Pry type lid lifter and retainer



Jan. 22, 1952 W. S. BURNARD PRY TYPE LID LIFTER AND RETAINER Filed Oct. 8, 1949 INVENTORZ WILLIAM STEPHEN BURNARD HIS A'rTY's Patented Jan. 22, 1952 .U N ITE D STATES 'ICFE 'william'jstephen" Burnard, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada uApplicationOctober 8, 1949;?Serial:N0.i120;339

j4'ClaZims. 1 My invention (relates to new "and usefullim- .gprovements sin -lcan openers, particularly suitable JOB-115B upon canshaving-asnaplid or allid which .-receivable withinsan aperture. formed in .the .upperlsurface .ot the .can -anzobjectofimy inven- ..tions-abeing to.-provide:a device of the character ,lherewithin described which facilitate vthe re- -,-moval lof such lid withoutmecourseito screwdrivers, knivesror-thelike.

V A further ,objectoiumy inventionin conjunc- -tion=with the -.foregoing object is to provide a 1 .device of the character .herewithin described by whiohlmeans thelidsofcans can beremoved without riskeof, injury to. thelhandof .the operator, :a risk that is extremelylprevalentwhen V a knife l-onscrewedriverisnsed in lieurthereof.

Another objectscf :my invention, .i to provide a device .of the character ,herewithin, described .which .retains the lid =firmlylafter ..removal there- .byreliminating contamination of theundersuiface lof the. lidewithdirt, dustorlthe like.

A stilllfurtherobject oflmyminvention is to .prolvidea device of thecharacter .herewithinrdescribed whichlis adaptable forluse iwithhalllsizes .of eanslusingvthislform oflsnap lid.

it, yet further object .of my invention is to ,provide ..a device of the character herewithin .described which. is economical in. ,manu'fac'ture,

simple in operation, and otherwise well suited lfor the ,purpose .for which itis designed.

With the foregoing "objects in view, and such ,lother objects randladvantages as will become apparent tothose skilledlin the art to which .this invention .relates as this specification proceeds, imy inventiomconsis'ts essentiallyinithe arrangelment.v and construction of parts all as hereinafter more .particularly described, reference being had to .the accompanyingdrawines .inv which:

eEigurell Risa perspective view .of al-canlhaving a snap slid and showing one embodiment of my ideviicerinlsitu.

,Ei urefl isla fragmentary cross-sectional .view

:ioLEigurel1showing-the,engagement of my-device .existing between the l lidsirand cans using this .riorm of; closure, considerable leverageis normally required :in order to'gpry loose ,the lid rand, .ifla

usedv or this a-removal, there is the dangerrof linjurytoathe handof the. operator.

Furthermore, if the can contains a viscous --1iquid:such as paint, .syrup-orithe like, vthere is firmlywithin the opener afterremoval Jfrom 'the -can whereupon it maylbeplaced where desire'dlor,

.! if necessary, replaced luponthe canwithout liendling the lid.

Proceeding "new .to describe my. invention in -deta1l, ,it will be seen upon reference :to :the accompanying vdrawings that Lhave illustrated'sev- :eral embodiments thereof, these i embodiments beingshown inlFiguresl, 3, 4 and 5.

The embodiment shown in Figure l comprises 1'3 handle I having .a ;pairof leverarms 2 .formed rfrom relatively --stiif wire" or the like, extending from point of attachment -3 and divergingroutwardly to a point substantiallymediallyalong the length :thereoftindicated' by the reference charyacter l i. l-he lever arms 2 -.then continue substantially lparallel vto .form the -portionsdi. .upon

the .distallends of which :I have vformed lid-liplen- @gaging olawsii by angulating theendssubstanitially at right angles tolthelaxis of Lthe arms, the extremities 1 ofjth'e claws being vsharpened ito ,fa-oilitate engagement beneath the lip ofiaflidl'ii'l of an associated can I I].

. -A resilient lid retainer component .II formed ,,preferably from spring r-steel strip, extends from theeportion .3 of .the handle .-I substantially between .the :two :lever arms 2 Hand is .angulate'd .at

"the extremity 1.2 thereof through substantially .to form a lid engaging finger .13. .Thisjfinger .is. angulated. in opposition .to theia'forementioned claws '6 and lies substantially 'therebetvzeen and projects slightly, beyond the .plane of the claws ifor'the purpose. hereinafter to be described. Nor- :mally the. resiliency of the strip causes theporvtion Vl3'toproject between thelclaws Sin aplane flying behind "the rear surfaces M of the arms '2. In operation, the :claws Glare engaged beneath 3 the lip 8 of the lid 9, the sharpened extremities I assisting in this engagement. The lid retainer component [2 is sprung so that the finger l3 engages against the interior vertical surface I5 of the lid as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. The opener is now rotated in the direction of the strap arrow l6, whereupon the locus of angulation I! of the claws 6 bears against the rim I8 of the can It thereby providing leverage which removes the lid from the opening l9. When rotation of the opener is completed, the claws 6 and the finger l3 co-act with the lid 9 holding same firmly as clearly illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanyin drawings thereby permitting same to be placed where desired without handling same.

Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings shows an alternative embodiment of my device comprising a handle to which is adjacently formed a lever arm 2| having a lip engaging claw 22 formed upon the distal end thereof, the handle 20, the arm 2| and the claw 22 bein formed of fiat stock strip material havin flanged sides. 23 for rigidity.

A resilient lid retainer component 24 manufactured preferably from spring steel strip, engages within a pair of transverse slots 25 formed within the handle 20 and extends forwardly and under the claw 22 projecting forwardly therefrom as clearly shown in the drawing. Thedistal end 25' of the component 24 is rolled to facilitate engagement with the lid as described in the previous embodiment.

Figure 4 of the accompanyin drawings shows a further alternative embodiment in which the lever arm 26 is formed of relatively stiff wire and angulated at the distal end thereof to form the engaging claw 21. The lid retainer component 28 is manufactured preferably from spring steel wire and curves downwardly and under the claw 21 to project slightly forwardly therefrom as clearly illustrated.

Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings shows an embodiment including a handle 29 havin a lever arm 30 extending therefrom upon the distal end of which is formed the lid engaging claw 3|. The resilient lid retainer component 32 extends forwardly from the handle 29 in overlapping relationship to the lever arm 30 and is provided with a lip engaging finger 33 upon the distal end thereof angulated in opposition to the aforementioned claw 3|. A feature of this embodiment is the provision of means for depressin the retainer component 32 against the resiliency theerof which comprises a button 34 having a stem 35 freely engageable within an aperture in the lever arm 30, the inner end of said stem being provided with a depressor 36 which bears against the inner surface of the component 32 and facilitates the separation of the finger 33 and the claw 3| both for engagement and disengagement about the lip B of the lid 9. In this connection it will be noticed that the portion 31 of the lid retainer component H illustrated in Figure 1 normally extends between the arms 2 thereby providin what I define as a finger engaging portion by which means the re-- tainer component can be depressed from the lever arms- Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An opener for snap-lid cans, canisters and the like, comprising in combination with a handle, a lever arm extending from said handle, a lid-lip engagin claw angulated from the distal end of said arm and a resilient lid retainer component also extending from said handle co-actin with said claw to retain the lid of said can when removed therefrom, said lid retainer component being angulated at the distal end thereof in opposition to said claw, said distal end of said retainer component being in overlapping relationship with said claw.

2. An opener for snap-lid cans, canisters and the like, comprising in combination with a handle, a pair of lever arms extending from said handle, said lever arms being angulated upon the distal ends thereof to form lid-lip engaging claws, said claws being in parallel spaced relationship one with the other, a resilient lid retainer component extending from said handle between said lever arms, a finger engaging portion formed upon said retainer component for moving same out of alignment with said lever arms, a lid engaging finger formed upon the end of said component in opposition to said claws, said finger coacting with said claws to retain the lid of said can when removed therefrom.

3. An opener for snap-lid cans, canisters and the like, comprising in combination with a handle, a lever arm extending from said handle, a lid-lip engagin claw angulated from the distal end of said arm and a resilient lid retainer component also extending from said handle co-acting with said claw to retain the lid of said can when removed therefrom, said lid retainer component being angulated at the distal end thereof in opposition to said claw, said distal end of said retainer component being in overlapping relationship with said claw, and means for depressing said retainer component away from said lever arm for engagin and disengaging the lip of said lid.

4. An opener for snap-lid cans, canisters and the like, comprising in combination with a handle, a lever arm strip extending from said handle, a lid-lip engaging claw angulated from the distal end of said strip and a resilient lid retainer component also extending from said handle co-acting with said lever arm to retain the lid of said can when removed therefrom, said retainer component being angulated in opposition to said claw to form a lid engaging finger, and means for depressing said retainer component away from said lever arm for engaging and disengaging the lip of said lid, said means comprising a button, freely engageable within said lever arm, the lower end of said button bearing against said lid retainer.

WILLIAM STEPHEN BURNARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

